Casually looking at 21kb’s 2551 SAW keycaps and noticed this little typo:
It should say “Daten Freigabe” but hopefully that was just a flub on the renders and protos.
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What if flipped space bar, but DSA?
It’s kinda neat, though - as IO Sam points out, this isn’t so much a weird crazy new idea as a different approach to the venerable Model M’s plate design. Would I personally buy it? No. Do I think it’s cool someone did this? Very much.
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Wait, where is that super flexible PCB that’s connected at the rows by ribbon connectors? Seems like a good implementation for it.
Ergonomics aside, I’m thinking about how drastically different some MX switches feel based on what angle I press them. I imagine this keyboarding experience would be off-putting. Only one way to find out!
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The guy decided a flipped spacebar wasn’t enough so he flipped the entire keyboard.
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Such a german word 
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Pretty sure nobody else cares about this but:
A groupbuy I bought into switched processors on the PCB to the RP2040 during production, then moved the majority of the coding effort to a non-QMK firmware and started developing a closed-source commercial front-end to that other firmware.
Typical keyboard group buys do two levels of exploiting open source:
- sell keyboards
- hoard wealth and contribute nothing but just enough code to get the keyboard to work in QMK.
This was a new more advanced form of open source exploiting:
- sell keyboards
- hoard wealth
- make half-assed port to QMK
- focus the majority of support/development on new firmware and a commercial GUI tool instead of improving QMK or the other firmware.
Anyway, that’s why I’m selling a Lulu. It still looks like a great split keyboard for anyone who doesn’t care about this stuff. I’ve worked on open source software for twenty years and it just pisses me off.
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So, not Boardsource, not affiliated with them, just someone who tends to favor KMK nowadays and feels like I can contribute some info.
Obvious a switchup mid-gb is a shitty move almost all the time, especially if end results drastically differ from expectations, that I won’t dispute.
What I would assume happened is somewhere along the line the intended controller option ran out with a 50week+ lead time like so much of the component supply still does nowadays. In cases like this, the RP2040 has been a super awesome option for basically always being available, but until April(?) was pretty dry on any QMK support. On the other side, it had KMK support from nearly the beginning, making that a new obvious choice to work towards.
Regarding Peg development, it’s a huge boon for KMK to have a VIA/Vial equivalent to simplify the workflow even more. Having said that, I can’t dispute that diverting attention away that was supposed to be directed at an open project is something that shouldn’t have been the case, especially not as a change from what was laid out in the gb expectations. I will say that at least Peg is still fully featured in its free version, and they have several avenues for a life license to the pro version without needing to pay the $10.
Having said that, what makes you consider the QMK port of the board to be half-assed? I would expect a manufacturer’s obligation to end once their product is fully functional, and that contribution past that point to be an exception and not a norm.
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You’re absolutely right, I believe it became unfeasible for them to use the same controller and that’s why they switched to the rp2040. I don’t mind it getting KMK support either, that’s also open source and would have been a totally reasonable solution if they decided to make a free and open source graphical interface on top of that. A KMK maintainer is on the boardsource discord and has no problem with this, and that’s fine. I think I am basically the only person who is upset about that change.
Maybe half-assed isn’t the right term, but to me It’s not a complete port because they went out of their way to develop a graphical front-end and point users to it instead of the open option which means the closed software gets more work, focus, attention, and has already diverted progress from either KMK (or QMK) having another improved graphical interface that is as free as the firmware code. To put it another way, the QMK firmware is half-assed for the lulu because it doesn’t have the graphical interface, it doesn’t have the attention of the users, and truth be told the KMK version doesn’t have the graphical interface unless you’re willing to use the non-free software which I imagine most people will use just fine because it’s the easiest option.
It’s like if you bought a keyboard from RAMA and before the fact they said it’d be X, and they even delivered X plus Y, but Y is so bad for the keyboard community overall you don’t want anything to do with RAMA anymore. This isn’t as bad as RAMA suing their former designers or whatever, but to me it is pretty bad overall to the community to have another closed-source graphical front end that is also commercial.
I’m glad someone else understands whats going on here, even if we don’t agree about the effect.
Someone’s mom is a savage.
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I’m going to sound like a cynic, but I have my doubts about the legitimacy of this “find.”
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Keebmonkey Keyboard Wireless Display Box - Stand | Mechanical Keyboards | Components Mechanical Keyboards | Drop So Dorp is selling this for 100 bucks but wait if you dont want the stand its 88 bucks what a bargin…
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Yeah, I thought so too. Who knows, people lie for karma all the time.
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https://www.keebmonkey.com/products/james-donkey-a3-gasket-keyboard-kit
KeebMonkey sure has some funny product names on their site.
I say, Reginald, have you tried the latest luxury input device from James Donkey?
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yeah, I wanna know the story of James Donkey. I remember that brand showing up on MK.com a few years back, too. So random. Sounds like a US Southern nickname, but maybe just a bad Chinese translation.
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South facing LEDs so better than most 75 percents in that price range!
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Extremely bomb
I haven’t heard someone say “that’s bomb” since, idk, the 90’s? I’m sure they meant something different but it made me chuckle.
Here’s some more top-shelf Engrish:
…improve the previous green keyboard switch voice hoarse, smelly keyboard switch, serious noise and other deficiencies, with a crisp and pure voice, the sound of nature, shock appearance, is a burning green keyboard switch, loved by the majority of users
wat
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voice hoarse, smelly keyboard switch burning
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I ran that phrase through Bad Translator with four passes and I think it may have improved the description’s legibility:
Improve the sound of the old green keyboard, Cent of the keyboard, Hazardous noise, other linadaciones, pure voice and sound of nature and shock, is the most favorite burn key.
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Ah, the most favorite burn key.
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